Following Our Way
by NachoMama37
Summary: A continuation to Finding a way: a lancaster story. RWBY, JNR, Qrow, Oscar, and Maria finally make it to Atlas following the events of canon. While Finding A Way is Jaune's story coming to terms with Pyrrha, his feelings for Ruby, Following Our Way will deal with Ruby's insecurities.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the continuation of "Finding A Way" which will be on hiatus until Volume 7, since that one is fun to keep with the canon. Think of this like a divergence of world lines/timelines and everything that happened in FaW is canon here. This is a whole new playground where there is free reign! Plenty of opportunities for different POV's too.

The sun was setting on their first day in Solitas. Ruby and Jaune were enjoying the first minutes of alone time they had since Yang and the others were filled in on their together-together status. The house they were staying in had a cozy little back yard with a view of Mantle below. The two watched the sun set in comfortable quiet. The last few days had been such a flurry of emotion and activity they really hadn't had much time to process anything. They are leaning on the fence looking out at the cities below spring to life with the glow of streetlights below.

Jaune decides to breach the quiet. "Hey Ruby?" She hmms in response. "I'm really glad you sent that letter all those months ago."

She turns her head to look him over. "I'm glad you guys all wanted to come." They smile at each other and go back to just watching the cities in the distance. The two enjoying just spending quiet time together.

Yang stands at the door leading outside watching the two. Qrow walks by her and follows her gaze. "What's up firecracker? Why do you look so confused?"

"I kinda figured those two would be more.. lovey dovey? I know that's a weird thing to say and all, but, it doesn't seem like much is different between them?" She says raising an eyebrow.

Qrow lets out a short gruff laugh. "For those two that IS lovey dovey."

"They're just standing around talking." Yang points out.

"Think of the last few weeks, how often has the chance to just stand around and talk come around? Love isn't always about grand gestures and showy displays of affection, sometimes just being next to each other is enough." Qrow speaks gently.

"Love? Them? Already?" The brawler questions hardly believing what she's hearing.

"Yep, but don't go worrying about them. You know as well as I do they're good kids with good heads on their shoulders." Qrow pats her shoulder and walks off. Yang decides to join the two at the railing. She settles next to Ruby.

"Whatcha doin 'out here?" She asks.

"Just looking at everything. It's so weird we're on a whole 'nother continent!" Ruby waves her hand out towards the cities below.

The three look over the cities in the silence for a while. "Ruby?" The tiny reaper looks over at her sister. "I'd like to talk to Jaune, alone if that's okay?"

The dark haired girl looks to Jaune and smiles gently then to her sister. "Okay, I'll be inside." She waves leaving them.

Once she's sure Ruby is out of earshot she looks over to Jaune who is looking out over the railing again, waiting patiently for her to start. "Jaune, do you love Ruby?"

He's not sure why but he's a little surprised by her bluntness. He turns to meet Yang's eyes. "Yes, I love her." He states simply.

"What about the thing with Weiss, back at Beacon?" Yang enquires.

Jaune laughs quietly. "Just a crush, got over that ages ago."

"Okay, you know Ruby's never had a boyfriend before? Ugh this is so awkward!" Yang whines.

"I know." He states.

"So.. uhh.. don't go rushing things?" Honesty Yang had always figured she'd be her dads backup when Ruby's first boyfriend emerged. It was a bit overwhelming to do this on her own.

He laughs quietly again. "We have our mission, and our whole lives ahead of us. As embarrassing as it sounds, I get what you're saying. You have my word as an Arc." He smiles at her. The honesty in his eyes is reassuring.

She sighs in relief. "Well that went easier than I thought." She asks the young Knight to fill her in on how he came to realize he loved Ruby. He doesn't hold back telling her about all the little things, and the times the road was a bit bumpy in the journey to becoming a couple. The conversation lasts over an hour.

"Then, for whatever reason, I just blurted out "Hey Ruby, I love you!" The looks on Ren and Nora's faces were priceless!" Jaune finishes his story.

Yang is laughing. "You did not! That's hilarious!"

He runs his hand through his hair. " Yep, after all we'd been through, I couldn't help myself."

"You pass the big sister screening. I really am happy for you two, though I gotta say, I'm still kinda in shock. Just, be good to her. I really will break your face if you're not." Yang levels him with a look."

"You don't have to worry, I did give my word, and an Arc never goes back on their word!" His eyes again hold honesty and Yang is satisfied with the answer. They head inside and find Ren, Nora and Oscar still playing their board game. Ruby sleeping on one of the couches, Blake and Weiss reading and talking quietly amongst themselves. Yang takes a minute to just appreciate that, at least for now they were allowed to just be teenagers.

The next morning Blake wakes early and to her surprise finds Team Ranger already in the kitchen. The four of them making breakfast as had become their habit over the last few weeks.

"You guys are up early." She observes.

"Hey Blake." Ruby chirps.

"We rise with the sun, kind of a habit at this point." Nora explains, motioning with a spoon.

"I guess that makes sense, need any help?" Blake offers.

"I could use some help making biscuits." Ruby calls over her shoulder.

Blake helps Ruby finish the biscuits, once they are in the oven they all set to cleaning and setting the table. It's not long after that the rest of the house is awake and filling the house with laughter and lively chatter. It's a nice relaxing morning. Blake has a lot on her mind, so she's glad for the distraction. She takes a minute to observe her leader and Jaune. She thinks they are sweet as a couple, but it still seems weird thinking of them in that way. Then again, she had really only been back with them all for a few days, barely a week honestly. These were all her friends but, in a way they were also strangers to an extent. A weird feeling that would surely pass with a bit more time, and she wasn't going anywhere.

It was after lunch when Blake finds Ruby sitting on her own outside. The younger girls eyes closed and concentration on her face. Blake clears her throat to get Ruby's attention. "Can I join you?"

"Sure." Ruby chirps.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" Blake is curious.

Ruby sighs. "Trying to remember the feelings and state of mind I was in when I used my eyes." She points to her eyes. "Maria says I need to be able to do that no matter what's going on around me."

"It's pretty amazing seeing you use your eyes, are you trying to meditate?" Blake asks.

"Yea, but It's hard, I have to figure this out though." Ruby wants to whine but she's trying really hard not to.

Blake is about to offer to help when Nora sticks her head in the room. "Winter called! We have been cleared to explore the town!" She announces.

"We are under strict orders to not cause any trouble though." Ren states walking by them.

"Let's gooo!" Nora calls out.

Ruby springs up grinning. "C`mon Blake! I can't wait to see the town!" She's half way across the house by the time Blake stands. Qrow and Maria opt to stay at the house, as much as the kids need to blow off steam, the adults are in need of some quiet.

The group are soon all out the door and on their way to explore. The city is beautiful and lively, the streets abuzz with activity. Weiss leads the group to a favorite shop of hers. A cozy little bookstore with an in house bakery. They all disperse through the store, Weiss is a bit surprised when Ruby follows her instead of Jaune. Ruby talks quietly with her, this store has been a favorite of hers since she was little. Ruby is glad to see Weiss relaxed and happy. They drift to different aisles eventually. Ruby ends up in the comics looking for the latest issue of her romance series.

There are a few locals browsing the same aisle. Ruby ignores them as she finds what she's looking for. Triumphant once again in her quest Ruby turns to leave the aisle. One of the locals, a boy about Ruby's age stops her to make small talk. He says he's a fan of the series though he can't name the characters. Ruby recognizes the attempt at flirting and excuses herself. She spots Jaune who seems to be in a serious talk with Blake and Yang. Ruby spots that the boy has followed her and moves to Jaune's side. She leans on his arm, prompting him to casually drape it over her shoulders. Blake and Yang think it's a cute display.

Jaune looks over his shoulder to the boy and grins a goofy grin. The boy rolls his eyes and walks off. The young knight laughs.

"What's so funny?" Ruby asks looking up at him.

"It's the first time we've used that trick without pretending." He points out, Ruby rolls her eyes at him but smiles. The rest of the day is just spent exploring different stores and outdoor vendors. The group enjoy the time out of the house. When they return Qrow informs them they will be meeting with Ironwood in the morning.

A/N: This continuation and the muse absolutely refused to talk to each other until the last few paragraphs. So, while chapter one may be bumpy, the rest should flow much better. Not much more than fluffy bonding this time.


	2. Chapter 2: Meetings and Ghosts

A/N: 800 words in and I accidentally deleted the progress I had on chapter two. BRB gonna pout a while.

The morning sun glitters through the tree branches casting flowing shadows on the lawn. Maria and Ren were attempting to teach Ruby meditation. The goal to teach her to be able to still her mind and access the memories that allow her to access the power of her eyes no matter what was going around her. It wasn't going very well at the moment.

"I don't understand! I could feel what I needed to when I was at the farm or in front of that giant grimm!" She whines falling back laying flat on the cold grass.

"What memories were you thinking of by the way. It seemed to be going pretty well at first, before you drew its attention, anyhow." Maria asks.

Ren reaches out helping her sit back up. "At first I tried to remember happy times. Meeting Jaune, Zwei coming to our dorm, the dance, Blake cheering us on.. but then.. Penny and Pyrrha…" Her tone solemn, quiet and sad.

"That's why the thing turned its attention on you." Maria muses.

"I thought it was because of the lamp." The tiny reaper proposes.

"Maybe, but you were thinking of some very negative events. Though you pulled through, what happened?" The silver haired granny enquires.

"I maybe, kinda panicked and called Jinn." Ruby looks truly embarrassed. "I didn't have a question for her. She scolded me, told me I was clever and she gave me a bit of free knowledge. My memories were filled with my friends and she showed me a vision of my mom." Ruby has a sad sort of smile on her face.

Maria nods approvingly. "Hmm, any idea why you can't bring up that state of mind now?"

"No, I really am trying though." Ruby sighs.

"If we're working on teaching Ruby to meditate, maybe we could start with teaching her to access her chakras." Ren looks to Maria for approval she nods.

"Chackras?" Ruby asks confused.

"Think of the energy in our body, our aura as a river or stream. Chakras would be pools where the energy collects. The most common school of thought says we have seven chakras. Much like a storm can cause debris to fall into a stream blocking the water flow, life throws its own storms at us. The emotions and memories we hold onto can block our chakras." Ren explains.

"I think I understand." Ruby nods at the dark haired boy. "How do I start?"

"Opening your chakras can be a very emotionally intense experience. You will have to remember your biggest fears, regrets, and more. I'll be happy to guide you, but are you absolutely sure you want to try?" Ren asks.

Ruby's face is serious and her eyes determined. "Yes, I'm sure."

"I'll be right here with you if you need me." Maria interjects.

"Close your eyes Ruby. The first chakra is commonly called the earth chakra. It's at the base of your spine, It deals with survival and fear blocks it's flow. Think of your greatest fears and let them go."

Ruby closes her eyes, her biggest fear is losing her friends and family. Images of Penny, Pyrrha and the look on her fathers face the day Qrow told him her mom was gone flood her mind. She imagines each of her friends and family falling at Cinders hands. Tears flow freely down her face."

"Remember, you need to let the fear go." Ren speaks gently.

Ruby takes a few deep breaths and imagines Cinders attacks having no effect. It eases her heart enough that she does feel the fear float away. Opening her eyes she wipes her tears away. "That.. was.. more intense than I imagined."

"We don't have to work on this all today. You made good progress, besides I'm hungry and we have a meeting to go to." Maria hops up out of her chair and taps her cane on the floor signaling the training session is done.

It was late afternoon when they made it to a large office building. The sun glinted on the metal accents and perfectly clean windows. It made the building feel strangely imposing. Qrow lead the group inside, they followed him down a long corridor through several checkpoints. When they finally made it to the top floor Winter was waiting rather impatiently for them.

"Qrow" She says in the way of a greeting.

"Winter." He greets back, neither's tone warm, but both seeming pretty professional. Winter presses a button and speaking into a comm she lets Ironwood know his guests have arrived. She opens the door and the group filter in behind Qrow. Weiss smiles at Winter on the way through, her older sister returns the geature briefly before closing the door and resuming her guard of the outer office.

"Qrow, you stole one of my airships, returned it in disrepair, came into my kingdom when my borders are closed. Tell me why I shouldn't have you arrested." The general sounds exasperated.

"I have Haven's relic with me." Qrow motions to the lamp on Ruby's belt.

Ironwood stands, eyes wide and shocked. "What? How?"

"Ole Lionheart turned traitor, that's how." Qrow states simply.

"The letter you sent.." James starts.

"Just the official cover, we somehow pulled a miracle out of thin air and beat the enemy to the lamp. Sorry to say my sister lead Spring and the enemy right to the vault." The huntsman sounds weary.

"Why bring it here?" Ironwood sits back down.

"Oz said we needed to bring it to Atlas, thats why." Qrow sighs.

"Oz?" The general asks confused.

"Yep, already reincarnated. Meet Oscar Pine, Oscar, meet Ironwood." He motions to the farm boy who waves awkwardly. "Thing is, Oz has closed himself off, so I don't know what we're supposed to do with the lamp now."

"Hand it over to me, Oz obviously wanted it kept safe and my army can do that." Ironwood points out. "Tell me though, what do you mean Oz closed himself off."

Qrow sighs and spends the next half an hour explaining about Oz, Salem, and Jinn as well as filling Ironwood in on the events at Haven.

"That's a lot to take in." Ironwood runs his hand over his face.

"It's all true I'm afraid." Qrow desperately wishes he has a drink handy.

"The lamp." Ironwood starts.

"Stays with us, weren't you listening? The thing attracts the grimm. It stays with Ruby." Qrows voice coarse with a hint of anger.

"I'll take it by force if I need to." Ironwood stands. Yang and Jaune instinctively stand in front of Ruby.

"It stays with us. That kids the best weapon we have against the grimm. Silver eyes." Qrow motions to his eyes. "She has the ability to use 'em too. If you don't believe me ask that crazy old broad you have running the base in Argus. My niece petrified a leviathan class grimm, at least enough so that tiny egomaniac could finish it off." Qrow glares at Ironwood who sits again, sighing.

"Fine, you keep it, but if it attracts grimm like you say my people are in danger. Stay on standby, I'm moving you all onto one of my bases.." Ironwood states leaving no room for argument.

"Fine, whatever, we're leaving for now." Qrow turns leaving leading the group back out. Winter escorts them out of the building, a pretense to talk with Weiss, whom she promises to come and visit for a proper talk in a day or two.

"You kids do whatever you want for the rest of the day. I'm going to the house, gotta tell Maria the details too. I want all of you back by dark." With that Qrow waves lazily at them and wanders off.

"Sooo." Ruby starts.

"That's a thing that happened." Yang finishes.

"What should we do for the rest of the day." Oscar wonders. Ruby and Noras stomachs growl almost in unison.

"Food please." Ruby speaks up.

"I vote food too!" Nora adds. In truth they are all hungry, they walk the streets looking for a decent little café or diner. They are chatting and laughing and are blissfully unaware they are being followed. The group spend over an hour in the diner eating and laughing. The figure follows them as they window shop and joke around. Her pink and brown eyes following their every move. Neo trusted Cinder enough in that she believed the maiden when it came to revenge. Neo wasn't stupid, there were too many witnesses around and little red was with too many people right now. No, she would wait and watch and catch Ruby all alone one day and avenge Roman.

The breeze drew colder as the sun began to set. Neo frowned when the tall blonde boy wrapped his arm around Ruby. The dark haired girl smiling up at him as if she didn't have a care in the world. Neo's blood was boiling. The blonde kid was familiar looking too. She pulls out her scroll and browses the pictures. His partner was the girl with the long red hair that Cinder had offed in front of Ruby. Neo smiles a malicious plan coming to the forefront of her mind. She activates her semblance and changes her appearance in hopes of striking the first blow in her plan. She slinks into the shadows sticking close to the group, yet out of sight. Her patience is rewarded when Ruby pulks away from Jaune to fawn over a locals fluffy marshmallow of a dog. The rest of Ruby's group a half a dozen yards from her it's the perfect opportunity. Neo takes purposeful steps towards the younger girl, making sure her heels click loudly on the sidewalk to catch Ruby's attention, it works.

Ruby looks up and gasps audibly, all color fading from her face. Pyrrha stares her down before turning a corner disappearing into a crowd of people down an alley. Ruby stands in shocked silence for several seconds before a hand on her shoulder startles her and she gasps in fear.

"Ruby? What's wrong? You look like you'd seen a ghost." Jaune's voice and face full of worry.

Ruby blinks and wraps her arms around his waist hugging him tightly. "I think I'm just over tired, lets go back to the house." Jaune can't shake the feeling it's something else but doesn't prod. The group head back to the house. Jaune can't help but notice how uncharacteristically quiet the tiny reaper is the rest of the night.

A/N: Thanks as always to The Exiled Darkness for being my sounding board! Miss muse has quite the ride planned out. Chakra training inspired by AtLA. For the purposes of this fic, lets just assume Neo buys into Cinders BS about Ruby being responsible for Romans death.


	3. Chapter 3: Dreams and what may come

A/N: This is chapter three of a nine chapter arc. Things get "fun" from here. I'm also gonna need Fairy Tail to stop playing with my emotions. This last arc is killing me!

The smells of the carnival was the first thing she noticed. Peanuts roasting, cotton candy being spun, kettle corn popping and funnel cakes frying. It smelled heavenly, looking over her head there were lights strung up ziz-zagging across the fairway. She watched as passengers on rides screamed from the thrill or from being scared. Ruby looks over at Jaune and he has the most charming goofy smile on his face. The pair ride a few rides and play a few games.

There's one last thing he wants to check out before they leave. There's an old time-y jousting match being held in one of the fairgrounds many permanent buildings. They make their way through the crowds hand in hand enjoying each others company. The building comes into view they walk up to the double glass doors and Ruby stops confused. The reflection in the glass blinks back at her with vibrant red hair and glittering green eyes. "C'mon Pyrrha, it's about to start." Jaune states tugging at her hand.

Ruby opens her eyes taking in the ever lightening room as the sun rises. "Weird dream." She thinks to herself shuffling out of bed. The sun is barely peaking above the horizon so it's not surprising that she's the only one awake. With no one awake to talk to her and distract her from her thoughts her mind wanders back to her dream. It's nagging at the dark corners of her mind. She reasons with herself the dream was only because she happened to see someone resembling Pyrrha yesterday. The voice in the back of her mind whispers "what if." Thankfully Maria soon joins her and not long after Ren.

The three head outside and begin working on meditation and chakra training again.

"What chakra are we going to work on today?" Ruby asks stretching look of determination on her face.

"The water chakra, it deals with pleasure and is blocked by guilt. You'll need to examine what things you feel guilt over and let the guilt go." Ren explains.

Ruby sighs. "Okay." Neither Ren nor Maria miss the uncertainty in her voice. The moment Ruby's eyes close visions of Pyrrha, Penny, and even Roman flash in rapid succession through her memory. She tries to focus on each one attempting to give herself permission to let the guilt go. She isn't able to get into the proper mindset as when she tries to focus on Pyrrha, Jaune's face begins flashing alternating with her fallen friends image. She tries to focus, she has to master this. She scrunches her face in concentration trying to force herself to see the images. Her eyes snap open and she struggles to calm her breathing. She meets Ren and Maria's worried faces. "I can't."

"It's okay, no one is expecting you to do everything all at once." Maria speaks kindly.

"Are you okay?" Ren asks placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Yea." She sighs, not convincing anyone.

"That's enough for the day." Maria states hopping up to leave the room.

"But." Ruby starts.

"No buts! Take the day and go do something fun, get your mind off of whatever had you so worked up. Do I make myself clear?" Maria leaves no room for argument .

"Yes ma'am." Ruby relents, Maria nods and goes back in the house.

"Wanna go make breakfast?" Ren asks, Ruby is grateful that he's not the kind of friend to pry. She nods at him and the two set to work making a simple breakfast of eggs, sausage and toast. The smell of the meal wakes the rest of the house and they trickle in, eat, clean and everyone gets ready for the day. The call came in after breakfast that they are being moved onto the military base tomorrow. Knowing they likely wont be allowed free access in and out of the base, they resolve to make the most of their free time today. Ruby puts the weird dream and failed chakra session out of her head. Today she plans to have fun, and hopefully get a few quiet moments with Jaune.

The group head out of the house following Weiss, she's taking them to one of the nearby shopping centers. It's famous for having an indoor theme park. Blake and Yang follow closely behind gathering as much information from Weiss as possible about the park. They're debating the most efficient way to ride all the rides and eat all the food. Ruby, Jaune, Ren, Nora and Oscar are close behind enjoying the banter between the three girls. Ruby reaches out grabbing Jaune's hand, he looks over at her and smiles squeezing her hand a little. Nora and Ren smile at each other and follow suit. Oscar finds them all adorable.

The group manage to catch a few rides together before splitting up for a while. Oscar ends up with Yang, Blake and Weiss and Ranger end up together. The four take the chance to sit in the food court having a snack and relaxing a bit. "I thought you and Nora were hard to keep up with at carnivals. Yang's got you two beat by a long shot." Jaune teases causing Ruby and Nora to laugh.

"Yea, yea." Ruby rolls her eyes and playfully pushes Jaune's shoulder.

"What'll we do next?" Ren wonders, surveying the possibilities in the mall.

"There's an arcade and a movie theater." Ruby suggests pointing towards the shop fronts.

"Hmm, maybe arcade and then a movie? The others should be circling back around by the time we get done at the arcade. We could all go together?" The blonde suggests.

"Sounds like a plan." Ren agrees. Ruby and Nora agree, Ruby sends Weiss a quick text about the movie and they head to the arcade. In the arcade the two pairs split up for a while playing different games. Ruby watches as Jaune plays the crane machine. He plucks a tiny stuffed ursa from the machine and hands it to Ruby. She surprises him by standing on her tiptoes and kissing him on the cheek as thanks. They both blush a bit at the public display of affection and then laugh at the ridiculousness of their reactions. The whole being a couple thing was still pretty much uncharted territory for them both. "I love you, you big dork." Ruby looks up at him smiling.

"Well, that's good, because I love you too." He replies, and they laugh again at the call back to the young knight's confession a few weeks ago. Ruby wraps her arms around him and they hug for a bit, content to just be next to each other. Ruby's scroll buzzes ending their moment. Yang and the others are ready to see the movie. They track down Ren and Nora and they head off to join up. Outside the entrance to the theater they are in a lively debate over which movie to see.

"Ohh, how about the romance one Rubes? You and loverboy over there might enjoy that one eh?" Yang winks at them causing both Ruby and Jaune to blush. Oh, this was going to be the best thing ever, endless teasing possibilities! She thinks to herself laughing a bit.

"Yaaaannngg." Ruby whines half hiding behind Jaune at this point.

"Yang, be nice, you know your sister is… umm…"Blake stalls thinking of the right way to nicely phrase what she wants to say.

"Socially awkward, and as such, it's not nice to tease her in public." Weiss crosses her arms, Blake is about to point out calling their leader socially awkward isn't nice either, but, Ruby high fives her partner. "Yea!" She nods approving. Yang can't help but laugh. Ruby will always be Ruby.

Oscar had been studying the posters the entire time. "Hey guys, what about this comedy? I looked it up on my scroll and it has really good reviews too!"

"Sounds good to me!" Nora agrees.

"A comedy does sound nice." Ren says stroking his chin. A short discussion later and the comedy is agreed on. They enjoy the movie and decide to eat dinner at one of the restaurants they passed on the way to the mall. They are laughing and talking about the movie all through dinner. Ruby yawns just as the waitress asks if any of them want desert. They pass on the sweets and begin heading back to the house. They are much quieter, with full bellies they are all getting tired. Ruby leans into Jaune and he wraps his arm around her. The two of them are at the back of the group but still chatting back and forth with the others.

A passing huntresses weapon catches Ruby's attention. She spins out from under Jaune's arm to admire it. He smiles affectionately but returns his attention to Oscar rejoining the conversation. The huntress walks out of Ruby's field of vision, she is about to turn and rejoin the group when she catches sight of a long vibrant red ponytail and a very familiar shield and spear tucked underneath it. She rubs her eyes and shakes her head. She really is super tired if her mind is playing tricks on her like this. She walks quickly to catch up with the group.

"Your weapon get away already?" Jaune asks smiling. Ruby just nods and walks beside him quietly the rest of the way to the house. She doesn't even respond to Yang's teasing. "I'm really tired." She finally says when pressed on her quiet state. Ruby heads straight up to bed when they get to the house. There are several confused looks and shrugs when she does. Jaune puzzles and worries about her sudden change in demeanor, something in the pit of his stomach telling him there was definitely more than fatigue wrong with Ruby.

The tiny reaper stares at the ceiling in the bedroom watching the shadows cast in from the trees. Her mind swirling back to her dream, the sighting of the Pyrrha lookalike and her failed chakra training. Something had been chewing at the edges of her heart and mind. The thought never fully formed until just this moment. What if she's just a Pyrrha replacement for Jaune, a convenient stand in to temporarily fill the gap left in the wake of her death. The thought is heartbreaking. The doorknob rattles as the other girls prepare to enter. Ruby turns away facing the wall willing herself not to cry. She closes her eyes feigning sleep but her physical and emotional exhaustion lead to her actually falling asleep rather quickly.

The morning comes quickly and Ruby honestly doesn't feel like she slept at all. There isn't any training today as they all need to pack up quickly. Ironwoods escort onto their new on base housing is set to arrive before lunch. Ruby is very quiet the entire morning, a fact that does not go unnoticed. She just claims tiredness again when pressed. It's a half truth that she doesn't feel bad about telling. When the transport arrives Ruby sits between Yang and Weiss across from Jaune. It's not surprising for her to sit by her sister, but at the same time it feels odd, to everyone. The trip will take close to two hours the quiet conversations amongst the group and the din of the tires on the road lull Ruby to sleep. She dreams of the carnival again, and just as before when she catches her reflection she's met with vibrant red hair and glittering green eyes. She reaches out to touch her face in the dream as the transport pulls to a stop waking her up. She yawns and stretches. "Good morning sleepy head! We're here by the way." Yang teases. "Okay." Ruby responds sleepily, the dream still at the forefront of her mind. The dream so vivid she couldn't shake the image or the thoughts from the night before.

A/N: I figure I'm going to have Ruby deal with the same insecurities Jaune dealt with in FaW just in a different manor. Reviews always appreciated and constructive criticism super welcomed as well.


	4. Chapter 4: Sparring

A/N: A few things intended for this chapter worked their way into last chapter. No big, gives me a chance to work on expanding training scenes.

Their new temporary residence was fairly standard if boring in the overwhelming beige everything color scheme. They all work on unpacking most of them engaging in light chatter. Weiss notices the odd quietness of their leader. She's about to ask her partner if everything is okay but Ruby spots Ren and practically runs after him.

"What was that about?" Weiss wonders out loud.

"She's been training with Ren and Maria on meditation so she can unleash her eyes any time she needs to. She's taking it really seriously too." Yang sounds proud.

"She really does seem to have matured as a leader quite a bit while we were all apart." Blake flattens her ears.

Yang reaches out and touches Blake's arm. "We're all back together now." The three share a look and finish unpacking.

"Ren, if you're done unpacking can we try more chakra training?" The dark haired girl looks hopeful.

Ren shrugs. "If it's okay with Maria, it's okay with me." He nods.

"Do we have to work on the same one?" Ruby asks a bit nervously walking beside him.

"Some people think they should be accessed in order. I never really subscribed to that line of thinking. We can revisit the water chakra another day." He looks down at her and smiles a reassuring smile at her.

"You can work on chakras later tonight!" Maria's voice from behind startles them. Ruby opens her mouth to argue. "Nope! you're too full of energy right now, work on some other kind of training, hand to hand combat is your weak point, if I recall. I think perhaps if you've spent some of your energy, meditating and chakra training might work a bit better."

Ruby whines. "Yes ma'am." Ruby spots Qrow and a grin splits her face. "Uncle Qrow, come train with me!"

The huntsman smirks. "Oh, you think you're up to sparring with your teacher eh." He strokes his chin. "I dunno.." He teases.

"Awww, c'mon Uncle Qrow!" She whines making puppy dog eyes at the man.

"Fine, meet me outside." He sighs walking towards the back yard.

Before heading outside Ruby runs to her temporary bedroom poking her head in. "Yang! I'm gonna spar with Uncle Qrow!" She darts off running past Ren who is a little confused. Yang soon follows calling for the whole house to go outside. Jaune and Nora emerge and all Ren can do is shrug. Curiosity gets the better of everyone and they all filter outside to watch.

"Remember, I said hand to hand combat." Maria says sternly, Ruby nods and turns towards her uncle.

Qrow stretches lazily getting ready. "Whenever you're ready kiddo."

"Same deal as always?" She asks circling him.

"Nope, five hits if you want to spar with weapons." He cracks his knuckles.

She whines. "Last time we sparred it was three hits!"

"Yea, and you've got about three more years practice since last time we sparred." He points out.

"No holding back!" Ruby warns.

"Wouldn't dream of it, I'd be a lousy teacher if I did." He smirks.

She nods and launches herself at him. He dodges several attempts at punches and uppercuts. She backs off a bit leaving a good bit of space between them. She runs at him intent on landing a punch to his midsection. He side steps her and grabs her arm with one hand and with his other hand he flips her onto her back in one smooth motion.

There are several oohs and cringes from everyone watching when she lands. Ruby pops up quickly and fakes a left cross and manages to connect with a right hook. It barely connects, but barely counts. "That's ONE!" she cheers immediately back in defensive stance.

"You got lucky." Qrow teases.

"She's really taking this serious." Weiss observes.

Yang nods. "You can do it sis! Kick his butt!"

"Keep your hands up and your eyes focused on your opponent." Qrow sounds very much the part of a teacher. He launches himself at her this time swinging for her head. She manages to block the majority of the hits. He smirks and sweeps her legs out from under her. Several oofs are heard from the sidelines. Ruby jumps up again and begins circling Qrow. She launches a series of punches, most of which are blocked. She actually manages to get him to take a step back and she lands a solid hit on his shoulder.

"That's TWO!" She cheers again.

"They're gonna get serious now." Yang leans over whispering to Jaune.

"They weren't serious before?" He sounds shocked.

"Not really, just watch." The golden haired girl smiles. "Qrow's pretty much the only one she can go all out with Crescent Rose with. She wants to win this match."

True to Yang's word Ruby's eyes and stance became more focused, her elbows tucked closer to her body and the look on her face less neutral. Qrow nods changing his posture too and the two charge each other. Their fists fly and Qrow dodges an attempt at a head-butt Ruby attempts. The dodge leaves him open just long enough for Ruby to land a hit on his chest. "That's three." He states before rounding on her with a kick sending her towards a tree. Her reflexes kick in and she manages to right herself enough that her feet make contact with the trunk of the tree. She kicks off launching herself at him again. Another flurry of blocked punches plays out.

"That was pretty good situational awareness kiddo." Qrow says dodging a kick.

"Thanks." She replies attempting another kick, growling when it doesn't connect. She smirks having thought of an advantage.

"No semblance." Qrow scolds having read her mind. She whines and the two go back to circling. A bit of dust gets in Qrow's eye as the wind blows, he tries to wipe his eye without a time out giving Ruby the opportunity to land her fourth hit. Yang and Nora cheer.

"Hey, no fair." He half whines.

"All is fair in sparring matches!" She chirps back.

"Yea, yea, that IS how I taught you." He relents.

"Excuse me, I'm going to have to ask you all to keep it down!" A voice calls from behind them. An Atlas Military Policeman stands at the gate of the yard.

"What? Teacher can't train his student?" Qrow calls back casually.

"It is against regulations to train in the neighborhoods. I can consult the general about getting you all access to our training facilities if you'd like." The soldier is professional and polite.

"That would be great!" Ruby smiles at the soldier. They agree to stop the sparing and head back inside. They make lunch, Ruby and Jaune are the target of some lighthearted teasing from Yang. When the cleanup from lunch is finished Maria calls Ren and Ruby to begin chakra training for the day. Jaune and Oscar are both interested and ask to come along, but Maria wants to limit distractions.

The three settle outside and Ren initiates the session. "Lets try working on the Fire chakra. It's fueled by willpower, but blocked by shame. You'll need to think of the things you feel shame about and let them go. Do you think you can do that?"

"I don't know, but I can try." The determined look is back on Ruby's face. She nods at the dark haired boy and closes her eyes. She feels ashamed for leaving her home and Yang behind and for leaving her friends at Signal behind, and definitely for the way she acted in her early days at Beacon. Then there's the way she used the lamp. She really felt bad about her snap decision. Sighing she is able to let the shame drift away. She opens her eyes feeling lighter but very tired. She smiles at Ren and Maria. "That one was a lot easier than the water one."

"I figured you'd manage. I saw how much willpower you had at the farm." Maria's voice full of approval. "That's enough for the day.

"You're making great progress." Ren smiles at her and she smiles back. It's still early in the day but Ruby is exhausted. She heads up to her room to rest a while passing Jaune in the hall on the way.

"You okay?" He asks concerned.

She nods. " Just tired, chakra training is surprisingly exhausting." He wraps her in a hug and kisses the top of her head.

"Get some rest." He murmurs to her as she yawns. She smiles sleepily at him and nods. He boops her nose. Blake sees the entire exchange and is struck by how sweet it all is. Ruby is asleep nearly the moment her head hits the pillow. She dreams again of being by Jaune's side but again she is Pyrrha. Ruby wakes getting frustrated with this reoccurring dream. Her mind swirls back to wondering if she was a replacement for the invincible girl. She has had it with these fears and doubts and decides to seek Jaune out and talk to him about it. She finds him talking animatedly with Oscar, Blake and Yang. She's about to call out to him when she catches the tail end of his conversation.

"Then Pyrrha says "I'm sorry!" after throwing her spear at me. It was a good thing too since my only landing strategy was to not die." Jaune laughs as do Oscar and the girls.

The tiny reapers determination fades and her fears begin gnawing at her again. She frowns and walks off afraid of the answer she may receive if she breaches the subject. She passes Weiss in the hall her partner calls out to her but she doesn't turn to look at her. The white haired girl worries about her friend she's sure something is up with the girl, but what she still isn't sure what. Ruby walks out to the back yard for some quiet time to think. She ends up leaving the yard on a whim and ends up walking along the bases fence. She's trying to sort through her mixed up emotions. A small part of her knows she's overreacting to her dreams, that part is being drowned out by her own guilt and insecurities.

A rustling on the other side of the fence catches her attention. She watches as a silhouette slowly appears. She steps back in shock as Pyrrha steps out of the shadows. The fading light of day accenting the look of hatred on the redheads face. The two stare at each other for what seems like hours. Ruby opens and closes her mouth attempting to say something but she's too overcome with shock. She had been able to explain away the previous sightings as tricks of her mind due to fatigue. The ghost of her friend staring her down for this long defied explanation. Ruby takes another step back, this seems to act as a trigger. Pyrrha's stance changes to offensive, just as quickly the girl turns away and disappears into the woods.

The dark haired girl is confused and stares after the retreating ghost. A hand on her shoulder nearly makes her jump out of her skin. "Miss, the general doesn't want you wandering around without proper security." The Athlesian soldier states firmly. "We will escort you back to your quarters."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She manages noticing an entire unit of soldiers.

"Don't worry about it, we were out on evening rounds. If you promise to call ahead for an escort next time we can leave this off the reports." He smiles.

"I promise." She nods, satisfied the soldiers take Ruby back to the house. She waves at them before opening the door. When she steps inside she's greeted by Qrow he furrows his brow at her.

"You alright kiddo, you look like you've seen a ghost." The huntsman stands walking towards her.

"I think I did." She sighs. "Uncle Qrow, can I talk to you?"

The uncertainty and meekness of her voice concerns him. "Always." He sits on the couch and motions for her to sit. She sits and he allows the quiet to settle between them until she's ready to talk.

"Pyrrha, she's… gone.. I know that… I saw.." She wont or can't finish the sentence. "Why am I seeing her everywhere lately?" Ruby wraps her fingers in her skirt.

Qrow leans forward hands crossed on his lap, he sighs. "You're seeing her?"

She nods "Yea a few times in town and then just now. I feel like I'm going crazy."

He hmms. "You're working on chakras with Ren and Maria, from what I understand that can bring up some pretty intense emotions and memories. When you started that, is that when the visions started?"

She thinks for a minute. "Yea, pretty close to then I think."

He nods. "It's probably related then."

"Yea, I guess that makes sense, thanks." She half smiles and hugs him before heading to the kitchen feeling a little better about things.

A/N: Longest "combat" scene to date!


	5. Chapter 5: Shopping and Training

A/N: This chapter was originally planned as a Blake and Yang chapter. They'll get their own entire arc instead.

Jaune and Ruby are the first ones up for the day. The pair are sitting outside watching the sunrise. The sky turning from blues and purples to vibrant pinks and oranges. She rests her head on his shoulder as he lazily runs his fingers through her hair. They have been sitting in silence. For a long while, long enough that Ruby had contemplated bringing up her dreams as of late. She thinks that Qrow is right about the training bringing up her guilt and insecurities. Try as she may, she can't get the vision of Pyrrha staring her down with that look of pure contempt. Jaune notices the way Ruby tenses up, his face scrunches in worry.

"You okay?" He speaks softly, not wanting to fully break the serene atmosphere.

His genuine concern for her is comforting, she isn't ready to fully discuss things though. "The chakra training, it's pretty intense. I'm working through some things to unlock them." She mentally kicks herself, that sounded too vague.

"That makes sense from what Ren told me. I really do want to join in on the training though. I think it might be a good way to work on my semblance." He actually sounds excited about it and it causes Ruby to smile.

"I think we can talk Maria into letting you join us." The dark haired girl nods.

"I'd appreciate that, but first." He gets a mischievous look on his face.

Ruby raises her eyebrow. "First what?" She sounds adorably confused.

"This." Jaune smirks and gently pushes Ruby. "Tag, you're it!" He leaps off the porch she sits stunned for a second.

"Cheater!" She calls out hopping up to chase him. She whines when he tells her "no semblance!" They engage in the childish game for quite a while until Jaune trips managing to land partially on top of her. They both laugh. Caught up in the moment Jaune leans down kissing her. She closes her eyes and allows her hands to run through his hair. They are interrupted by someone clearing their throat. "Little early for that dontcha think?" Nora smirks. Jaune sits up looking sheepish. Ruby's face is as red as her cloak.

"We kinda got caught up in the moment." Ruby sits up and rubs her neck nervously.

"Yea." Jaune agrees mirroring his girlfriends actions.

"I can't take how cute you too are!" Nora tackles the pair in a hug causing them all to laugh.

"Uh, did I miss something?" Ren asks uncertainty.

"Nah, just our fearless leaders being adorable dorks." The redhead coos hopping up to wrap Ren in a hug.

"Breakfast is ready, lets go eat." The dark haired boy points to the house. They all follow him in and eat. The rest of the house joins soon. Jaune is about to breach the subject of chakra training when there's a knock at the door. It turns out to be an Athlesian soldier there to give them access to the training facilities and the on base stores. The general figured the supplies in the house were getting low. A quick scan of all of their scrolls grants them access. They are asked to stay in groups and to stay as low key as possible. They all agree and the soldier heads out. They make a list of needed supplies and groceries. Qrow and Maria aren't interested in exploring the base and send the kids off but not before Maria has an idea. She tells Ruby to find something lavender scented, a candle preferably. She intends to have the girl retry working on the water chakra tonight and the lavender scent may help her keep relaxed. With that the group are off.

The store on the base is a bit like a giant department store. It seems to have a bit of everything from weapons to produce. Oscar seems a bit overwhelmed, Ruby wants to find the candle first. The decision is made that the boys will go gather the non food items while the girls browse. The groups will reunite and shop for the groceries together. The layout of the store is odd but eventually Ruby finds the candle section. It's next to the women's clothing section. So while Ruby and Nora browse the candles the other three girls walk through the clothing. Ruby picks out two different brands of lavender candle. She and Nora debate which one is better, neither having been really into scented candles before.

Twenty minutes or so pass, Yang walks up to Ruby hiding something behind her back. Weiss watches, by the look on Yang's face she was pulling a prank. Blake can see and knows the golden haired girl well enough that she calls out her name with a warning. Yang smirks ignoring the golden eyed girl.

"Hey Rubes, found something for ya." The golden haired girl sounds super cheerful.

Ruby turns eying her sister knowing the tone. "Okay Yang, what is it?" suspicion in her voice.

"Tada!" Yang holds out a set of very suggestive undies. "You could get these and model them for your boyfriend." She sing songs.

Ruby eeps in embarrassment, her eyes scan the floor and rose petals burst around Yang, reappearing behind Weiss. "Yang, that wasn't very nice." Ruby calls out hiding behind her partner. Her sister feels otherwise and breaks into hearty laughter. Ruby continues to glare at Yang. Weiss manages to keep from laughing in an effort to not embarrass her partner further. Blake sighs and shakes her head, barest hint of a flustered smile.

Nora laughs despite herself walking past Yang. "I should get those to show Ren." She smirks at the red color Yang's face becomes. She hands Ruby the candle and ruffles the flustered girls hair. "C'mon ladies lets go find the boys" The redhead grabs both Ruby and Weiss's hands and pulls them along. Blake elbows Yang smirking.

"What?" Yang asks.

"Nora beat you at your own game today." Blake snickers.

"Yea, yea." Yang elbows her back.

The rest of the shopping is without incident but, Ruby can't look at Jaune without turning red. Yang enjoys that fact way too much. Everything is brought back to the house and put away. Jaune finally has a chance to talk to Maria. He makes his case and Maria agrees to let him join in on the training. She calls the three of them after dinner is eaten and the kitchen cleaned. She will work with Jaune and Ren can continue working with Ruby. The candle is lit Maria and Jaune sit at one side of the porch and Ren and Ruby on the other.

"Okay Jaune, you'll be working on the earth chakra. In it's most basic form it deals with survival and fear blocks it. Think of your fears and release them, that's how to open it."

"I think I can manage that." Jaune nods, he closes his eyes and focuses on his fears. His biggest fear is easy to pinpoint. Yes, losing anyone, friend, family, but especially Ruby. That's his biggest fear but not the only one. He also fears being too weak to protect his friends, despite how far he's come. There are of course a few more small fears but he's easily able to allow himself to release them. The ordeal takes him nearly a half an hour of intense meditation. He opens his eyes and sighs. "Ruby was right, it's way more exhausting than I imagined.."

Maria nods. "Yes, and some chakras are more difficult than others." She motions towards Ruby. The tiny reapers eyes are closed, but her face is scrunched up and her breathing ragged. It's clear Ren is speaking very gently and softly to her, but they cant make out what he's saying. Jaune moves to get up and go to her but Maria catches his hand.

"She has to do this on her own. I know it's hard to watch someone you love struggling. You can't interrupt, that was part of our deal. She's working on the water chakra again tonight." Maria explains.

"Water?" The young knight repeats.

Maria nods. "It's blocked by guilt, this is the second time she's attempted to open it. Do you know what she might feel so guilty about?" She wonders.

"Yea." Jaune sighs sadly. "She probably still blames herself for the deaths of our friends at the fall of Beacon. There was nothing that she could have done to save them."

Maria nods sadly. "I'm sure she knows that logically, but logic and emotions don't always go hand in hand."

"Ruby, the visions you are seeing aren't real." Ren raises his voice, trying to get her attention.

Rub's eyes open and she places her hand on her chest catching her breath. "No more tonight." She shakes her head.

Ren places his hand on her shoulder. "You're making progress, that's the important thing."

Jaune is now at her side and wordlessly pulls her into a hug. She melts into his embrace and allows herself to calm down. Maria. Makes her way over and clears her throat. "Geuss the candle didn't help." She tuts. Ruby finds the statement inexplicably hilarious and laughs pushing herself off of Jaune.

"Candles are funny?" Jaune questions.

Maria shrugs. "When emotions run high, as they tend to in training like this, the strangest things can seem funny, or sad, or.. well you get the point. I'm heading inside." She leaves them.

Ruby yawns wobbling a little even in her seated position. "I'm exhausted."

Jaune nods. "I am too, what do you two say we call it a night?" Ren and Ruby agree, the three head inside and settle in for the night. Ruby again dreams the same dream and wakes fighting the same doubts. She wakes before sunrise but manages to calm her mind and get back to sleep, she really is tired still. She wakes again at just after nine am, it's the most sleep she's had in months.

"'Mornin sleepy head." Nora calls from the couch.

"I can't believe how late I slept." Ruby half yawns half whines.

"Happens to the best of us, you feeling okay?" The redhead raises an eyebrow at her friend.

Ruby settles into one of the chairs. "Yep, I guess I was more tired than I thought."

Nora is standing over her in an instant. One hand on Ruby's forehead and one on her own. "No fever! Are you hungry? We saved you some breakfast or I could make you something."

"I'm starving now that you mention it. The house is quiet, where is everyone else?" Ruby wonders.

"They went to the training facility, I sent everyone else off. Once you eat we'll go join them. That reminds me." Nora picks up her scroll and taps out a message. Ruby eats and they walk the short distance to the training facility. The path takes them by the fence where Ruby saw Pyrrha. Nora picks up on the younger girls sudden quietness and she watches her warily eye the forest. The incident is forgotten when they go inside and Oscar calls out to Ruby asking her to be his sparring partner. She agrees.

Nora heads over to Ren and they chat for a while before Nora decides to spar with Yang. They all swap partners through the day and finally leave mid afternoon. Ruby is again towards the back of the group, walking next to Jaune. She catches the barest flash of red hair in the woods. She stills for several seconds before shaking her head. She's positive she saw something, but that's not the problem. When she looks up at an oblivious Jaune she cant help but be pulled into the spiral of doubt and worry.

A/N: Neo's psychological torment is working.


	6. Chapter 6: Almost

A/N: Not much to say, lets see what this chapter wants to do.

The storm outside shook the windows as the winds gusted. Lightning flashed and thunder crackled and boomed. Ruby watched the display from the kitchen window. She was the only one still awake and alone with her thoughts. She had thought of meditating working on the water chakra on her own but then the storm started. She eventually wandered into the living room, picking up and then putting down the remote. She had been travelling so long she honestly had no interest in tv. She stretched out on the couch listening to the quieting storm and drifts off to sleep.

Tonight she doesn't dream she is replaced by Pyrrha. She dreams that Pyrrha is everywhere she looks. It's startling enough she wakes, growls and forces herself to go back to sleep. Pleasant dreams suddenly shift. She's at beacon tower again but the position is wrong. She sees herself on her knees and it's not Cinder staring her down, it's Pyrrha with that look of contempt. Pyrrha draws back her spear and throws it toward her. Ruby sits up with a gasp hand flying to her chest half surprised to find nothing there, no spear, no wound.

"Are you okay?" Weiss's voice comes from behind her.

"Yea, bad dream… really bad." Ruby sighs breath hitching.

The white haired girl is soon by her partners side. "Wanna talk about it?"

The concern on Weiss's face nearly makes Ruby cave. "I'd rather not… not now."

"That bad?" Weiss's voice is full of compassion, Ruby just nods. There's a clatter of chatter as the rest of the house slowly wake. The ex-heiress cant help but be concerned when Ruby only half greets everyone and skips breakfast. Instead she retreats to the empty bedroom and attempts to work on the water chakra. Maria is refusing to let Ruby move on again until she's unlocked it. She closes her eyes and focuses. She was prepared today for the visions that she would call to mind. Penny, Pyrrha, the lamp. Figuring out what she feels guilty about is easy, how is she supposed to let it go? That's the part she's having issue with. Somewhere in her soul she understands the fault wasn't hers but the dissonance between heart and mind was difficult to resolve.

She gives up after an hour it's not long after that Yang comes looking for her, they're going to the training facility if she wants to come. She does want to join them, there isn't much else to do until Ironwood clears them. She's quiet on the way to the facility and makes a point of not looking out at the woods. She trains for a long time with Oscar, both beginning to show great improvnent in hand to hand combat. Training done they head back, Weiss notices the way Ruby is pretty much giving one word answers to everyone when they try and talk to her. The tiny reaper is even quiet through lunch. Weiss makes up her mind to ask her partner what's wrong, Maria calls Ruby and the boys to train again immediately after lunch is over. Her chance missed she sets to helping clean the house.

Maria again works with Jaune and Ren with Ruby. Jaune closes his eyes and calls the things he feels guiltiest about to mind. The whole situation with Cardin back at Beacon, more so how he acted towards his team in that time. The entirety of the situation with the events leading up to Pyrrha agreeing to be the fall maiden, and the most recent thing of course losing his temper on poor Oscar. He lets his mind dwell on each one for a long while and releases his leftover guilt. It's tiring but freeing. He opens his eyes feeling lighter than he had in ages. With more of this training to come he was beginning to excitedly wonder how this may improve his aura usage. Maria congratulates him on his success but sighs looking to Ruby who is still struggling. The girl opens her eyes and cries out of frustration. Jaune is at her side in no time. "Why is this so hard?" She whines.

"Take a break, we aren't done for the day, but I have an idea. I'll be right back" Ren states getting up and heading inside.

"Maybe if we talk it out it'll help?" Jaune thinks out loud.

Ruby shakes her head. "No, I need to figure this out on my own."

"Are you sure you're not just being stubborn?" Maria questions.

"No ma'am, I really just think it's something I need to accomplish on my own." Ruby states firmly determination in her face again.

Jaune squeezes her hand… "I have faith in you, crater face." The young knight smiles reassuringly.

"I have returned!" Ren announces, the pride in his voice evident. "Ruby drink this, it's said to help with chakra training." He hands her a glass with a beige colored liquid in it.

"Ren, there better not be any algae in that!" Jaune warns

"I promise you there isn't." the dark haired boy affirms.

Ruby looks dubiously at the drink. "Bottoms up?" She says uncertainly as she takes a big drink and gags. "GROSS. It tastes like banana and… onions?"

"Yes that's exactly what it is!" The dark haired boy grins.

"Ren what the heck?! You trying to poison her?" Jaune sounds incredulous.

"The properties in the banana and onion juice were used by ancient monks in their training, it's very nutritionally sound." Ren explains.

"Okay boys, head inside I'll take over for the day." Maria shoos them off deciding they are being far too distracting right now. Once they have left and the onion and banana juice with them. Maria guides Ruby in regular meditation for a while before having her focus again on the chakra. The session is intense and while Ruby very nearly makes a breakthrough she derails her own progress when her mind wanders to her dreams and sightings of Pyrrha over the last few days. She sighs frustrated again and opens her eyes.

"You almost had it that time, what happened?" The exhuntress asks.

"I dunno, I let other thoughts get in the way I guess." The silver eyed girl sighs.

"Well, you know what they say, Argus wasn't built in a day. You're making progress and that's all I can ask right now." Maria states getting up to head inside. "Coming?"

"No, not yet." Ruby leans back to look at the sky.

"No more chakras today, don't want to derail the progress you've made so far." Maria's voice rings of authority.

"Yes ma'am" Ruby acknowledges without looking up. She sighs working on clearing her mind, not wanting to dwell on the unpleasantness of failing her training again. She decides to just think about her friends and family and how grateful she is to have them with her. A crash in the house followed by Nora and Yang laughing brings a smile to her face. It may be much more chaotic than her travels with Ranger but she wouldn't trade it for anything. The warm sun and gentle breeze lulls her to sleep, the exhaustion from two rounds of chakra training and hand to hand training catching up with her.

Jaune soon comes outside looking for her and smiles fondly at her sleeping form. He tries to gently shake her awake but she is sound asleep. Gently he picks her up and carries her inside. A few eyebrows raise as he walks through. "Found her sound asleep." He speaks quietly, he takes her to her bedroom under the watchful eye of Weiss who was already there reading. Once Ruby is settled on her bed he brushes her bangs out of her face. It takes everything in him not to lean down and kiss her forehead but he doesn't want to make Weiss feel uncomfortable. The young knight turns looking at the white haired girl. Weiss raises an eyebrow. "I was just thinking how happy it made Ruby when we were all back together." He smiles warmly at her."

"Jaune, can we talk?" Weiss asks, standing, Jaune nods and the two walk into the hall.

"What's up?" He asks, curious.

"I just can't seem to remember Ruby being so.. quiet before, the last few days she seems especially off. Has she said anything to you? I'm worried about her." Weiss looks and sounds concerned.

Jaune sighs, he has noticed. "No, she hasn't said anything. I think it's the training with Maria, it digs up a lot of raw and powerful emotions. She's likely working through that in between."

"Is there anything we can do for her?" Weiss wonders.

Jaune shakes his head sadly. "We just be there for her when or if she decides to talk to us about it. That's all we can do." Weiss nods. "You're a good friend, you know that?"

The white haired girl smiles. "You too, and as weird as it feels to say it. I've been impressed with the way you are with Ruby. I never really pictured her in a relationship, but with you it makes sense."

Jaune blushes and rubs his neck feeling embarrassed. "Thanks, Weiss that really means a lot."

"Everyone get down here, I'm calling a house meeting!" Qrow calls through the house, his tone sounding urgent and authoritative.

"I guess we better wake Rubes up." Jaune motions towards the bedroom. Weiss sighs and nods, she was hoping her partner could get some rest. They find they don't need to as Ruby stumbles out of the room half asleep.

"What's all the yelling?" She yawns.

"Qrow called a house meeting." Weiss fills her in.

Ruby nods and Jaune drapes his arm over her shoulder gently leading her towards the living room. Weiss smiles at how natural they look together. Once they are all settled Qrow clears his throat.

"I just got off the phone with Ironwood, we're relocating in a day, two at tops. He says there's some sort of threat here. I know the man well enough that real or imagined , he's taking it seriously, and arguing with him will get us nowhere. You`ll all need to have all your things ready by morning in case our transport arrives." That's all the information the huntsman has to offer. The group spend the rest of the night on edge and packing. When they finally manage to go to bed Ruby dreams her same dreams.

A/N: All according to plan, eh Exiled? Typing this out on a keyboard helped a ton, getting used to the layout, if there are mistakes please excuse them. I'm used to just using the spen!


	7. Chapter 7: Ambush

A/N: This chapter has been planned since, well, before the fic was a thing. Hope I can make the ideas in my head make it onto the page.

The morning comes with a sharp knock on the front door. Their escort is there already, Qrow is very annoyed at the vagueness of the "threat." He decides to not take it out on the soldiers though. They are only still in Atlas on James good graces after all. They are all loaded up, the soldiers are being very polite and professional which is helping Qrow keep his temper in check.

"Where are we going? Ironwood didn't exactly advise me on the specifics last night." The huntsman grouches pointing to his scroll.

One of the soldiers looks to him. "The General has arranged a cabin on the outskirts of Solitas. It's going to take several hours to get there, it's quite remote." A perfectly adequate answer that causes Qrow to grunt and nod in response.

Maria is telling stories about her adventures before she lost her eyes. The tales are riveting but just remind Jaune that Salem is after Ruby. The same thing that happened to Maria could happen to the tiny reaper, worse she could end up like her mother. Qrow never mentioned the specifics, but it wasn't reaching to understand what happened to Summer. Qrow feels the young knights gaze on him, almost reading his mind. The huntsman nods solemnly causing Jaune to stiffen his posture and turn his gaze towards his girlfriend. Qrow smiles to himself, the kid is a good one. They have several military guards with them, as such Qrow doesn't see the harm in catching a little cat nap.

He's woken some time later roughly as an explosion rocks their caravan. Their vehicle squalls to a stop. "What's going on?" Qrow demands of the nearest soldier.

"We're under attack, a pack of grimm and a few bandits too." The soldier explains readying his weapon.

"Weapons ready everyone." Qrow shouts, more as a formality at this point. Blake's ears flatten, she hasn't found a replacement yet.

Yang reaches out and places a calming hand on her partners arm. "You'll do fine." Blake nods.

Qrow catches Jaune's eye for a second the determined look they share stating if these bandits are after Ruby they will rue the day.

Nora looks out the window and gasps. "That's a lot of grimm."

"Ruby, if the grimm can't be taken down you're our last line of defense, remember what I've been teaching you." Maria's stern voice carries.

Ruby nods." Team, lets do this." The soldier tries to protest but they all jump out of their transport. "Ranger left, RWBY right, Qrow keep Maria safe!" Ruby shouts, the soldier blinks dumbfounded for a second at the fact that a professional huntsman taking orders from a kid. Nora wasn't kidding when she said it was a LOT of grimm. There were dozens upon dozens, ursa, nevermore, griffins, beowolfs and most menacingly a few beringles. They along with the soldiers are hard at work clearing the grimm, but there's no sign of the bandits the soldier mentioned. That is until a fireball explodes between Ruby and Yang who are fighting side by side. They are sent flying opposite directions. Ruby lands disoriented next to one of the ape grimm. It roars picking her up and launches her effortlessly.

Jaune stares in shock the fireball having grabbed his attention. "Cinder." He growls out, she smirks at him and launches a volley of fire attacks at the group scattering them.

"Keep it together kid." Qrow warns

"I'm okay." Jaune replies and takes a deep breath calming his nerves. In the chaos of the battle they haven't realized Ruby has been separated from them.

Ruby growls pulling herself up ready to spring back into battle with the ape grimm when a crunching behind her catches her attention. She turns and gasps nearly losing her grip on Crescent Rose. "Pyrrha?"

The redhead simply smirks at her before charging the tiny reaper. Ruby blocks blow after blow parryng with her scythe. "How are you even here?" Ruby calls out attempting to get the other to talk, her mind refusing to believe that the girl in front of her is anything but her friend.

Pyrrha in one swift move uses her spear to disarm and send Ruby flying into a nearby tree.

"What's going on, we're friends aren't we? I won't fight you." Ruby says picking herself up trying to reason with the advancing Spartan. The form of Pyrrha's eyes takes on a deadly glint as she strikes with a series of kicks, many of which Ruby manages to block while pleading with the girl to just talk to her. "If you're okay you need to tell the others they miss you." She tries to reason. A kick connects with Ruby's midsection sending her flying again into another tree. Her opponent is super strong and Ruby can feel her aura depleting rapidly.

Qrow and the others have managed to deal with most of the grimm and between them they are doing an okay job of holding Cinder off. A small lull in the combat and they quickly realize that they are minus one. Jaune's eyes widen.

"She's been toying with us! Where's Ruby?" He shouts swinging his sword.

Qrows jaw drops and a look of panic spreads on his face. "No."

"Yes, bird boy." Cinder calmly states smirking launching herself at the group.

"Yang, Jaune, Ren, Nora, go find Ruby, the rest of us will handle her!" Qrow barks running towards Cinder.

"Which way do we go?" Yang yells above the din of the battle, the concern written on her face. A thud and the sound of metal on wood answers their question and the four run in the direction of the sound.

They break through a few trees with obvious signs of a recent battle and they are all stopped in their tracks momentarily. Ruby is flung lifelessly through the air not even flinching when she makes contact with the ground. The form of Pyrrha stalking purposely forward with her spear raised intent clear. Jaune is first to break out of his stupor running at full speed to get between Ruby and the imposter. His sword barely manages to interset the spear and the clang of metal on metal prompts Ren, Nora and Yang into action. "You're not Pyrrha, you're disgracing her memory in that form. Pyrrha was kind and would never attack her friends." It's not shouted, his voice is deathly calm and it causes Neo to take a step back. He charges her and their weapons clang against each other briefly before he hears his name called in panic.

"Jaune, Ruby needs you NOW!" Ren shouts, the young knight's face falls in dread and he runs turning his back on his opponent. Neo thinks she's won and starts walking off when the ground explodes around her as Yang clad in her semblance and Nora attack together. Ren can't ever remember seeing that much rage on the redheads face before.

The dark haired boy gently turns Ruby to her back and leans her head back attempting to make sure her airway was clear. Jaune slides to a stop and shouts Ruby's name, if she hears she makes no indication. The blonde boy is near panic when both he and Ren watch her breathing become more shallow. Jaune has both of his hands encased with his semblance the golden light coursing over the small girls body. Ren refrains from stating how dire the situation is though he casts a glare at the retreating form of Neo who had finally given up the illusion. "Ruby, c'mon you can do it, come back to us." Jaune whispers through tears.

Ruby found herself in the most gorgeous garden she had ever seen. There were large white pillars and pavers made of white marble with gold veins running through them. There was every kind of flower she had ever dreamed of in full bloom and she could hear the bubbling of a little fountain. She follows the sound and finds an elegant fountain at the base of a little golden stream. She kneels down dipping her fingers in the cool clear water.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" A soft, kind, and familiar voice calls to her. "Hello again." She offers warmly

Ruby stands, her eyes are wide and the look of shock on her face quite evident. The look of shock is replaced with a look of fear as Ruby takes a defense stance.

"That wasn't me Ruby, don't you know that?" Pyrrha asks gently, an undercurrent of hurt in her voice.

The tiny reaper falls to her knees in tears. "I'm sorry." She breathe out, she's soon wrapped in a warm hug.

Pyrrha chuckles a little. "That's my line, but Ruby, why are you here? It's much too soon."

Ruby blinks. "Here?" Her confusion comes through in her voice.

"I passed on, remember, if you're here.." Pyrrha wants to let Ruby realize on her own.

"Oh, Oh NO, the grimm!" Ruby jumps up in panic looking for a way out.

"It's okay Ruby, look at yourself." Pyrrha instructs.

The tiny reaper squeaks in fright her body is fading. "What's happening?"

Pyrrha smiles gently. "Jaune is happening."

"His semblance." Ruby whispers.

"Yes." The pride in Pyrrha's voice makes Ruby smile.

"He really does love you, ya know." Pyrrha winks at the ever fading Ruby. "I'm happy for you both, but Ruby, I don't want to see either of you for at least eighty years, you got that?" Pyrrha shouts waving the smile on her face never fading.

"She's coming to!" She hears Ren shout in relief, she coughs and sputters her lungs burning for air. The memory of her encounter with Pyrrha already fading, feeling like an important memory ripped away. She remembers where she is and her eyes fly open and she attempts to sit up, eyes wide, she gasps everything hurts. Yang and Jaune gently guide her back down but Ruby's eyes dart around the area terrified. "Pyrrha" she breathes out through clenched teeth, talking hurt her ribs.

"That wasn't Pyrrha." Jaune's voice has a cold steely quality to it. Ruby can't help the tears that begin to flow.

"Ruby?" Yang calls softly as her sister manages to cover her face with her arm.

"Ruby, you're okay now, we're all here." Nora speaks quietly and reassuringly.

Blake, Qrow, and Weiss break into the clearing where Jaune is boosting Ruby's aura. "What happened?" the three shout in unison seeing their leader battered and bruised.

"Pyrrha was attacking Ruby, no, someone wearing Pyrrha's face did." Ren nearly spat.

"The one that attacked me on the train back then, it was her." Yang growls

Qrow's face falls. "I'm an idiot, she tried telling me a few days ago she thought she was seeing Pyrrha, I chalked it up to her training."

"It's not safe here, we need to go NOW." Maria's voice booms over everyone. "We managed to run the fire lady off for now, we need her to lose our trail"

"I don't know if Ruby's stable enough to move yet." Jaune calls.

"We'll have to risk it, carry her if you need to but we need to be gone five minutes ago." Maria calls sternly.

The group all nod, Jaune picks Ruby up attempting to use his semblance and run with her at the same time, he finds he can't. He knows she's out of the woods for the most part but she is still very badly injured. He has to maneuver over a fallen log at one point and her breath hitches when he lands. "I'm sorry, we're almost back to the transport" he says looking down with what he hopes is a reassuring smile. His heart drops at the haunted look in her eyes. He opens his mouth to comfort her when her head lulls to the side as she falls unconscious again. Panicking he picks up the pace and rushes her into the transport, he sits keeping her in his lap and focuses all of his effort on his semblance boosting her aura to heal her injuries. She stabilizes and falls into a dreamless sleep. An unsaid resolution among the group as their eyes meet. Neo would never touch their leader again.

A/N: Pretty decent representation of what the scenes were like in my head Ruby forgets she saw Pry in "heaven" as soon as she woke up, if that wasn't clear enough, there's a reason for that. I appreciate reviews so, my loves if you like this let me know. Two or three chapters left of this arc before we move on to the Blake/Yang arc


	8. Chapter 8: After

A/N: This chapter wouldn't leave me alone so I'm writing it the day after I wrote ch 3.

It had been two days since the attack on the transport, Ruby hadn't spoken a word to anyone. The entire house was worried about her. One by one everyone had approached the dark haired girl with words of comfort. Her usually sparkling eyes looking lifeless. The tiny reaper would only look up at them and turn away when they tried engaging her. The state she was in was heartbreaking. Currently Ruby was sitting outside under one of the trees staring out at nothing in particular. Yang watched from the door indecision and worry written on her face.

"She'll be okay, we need to give her time to deal with this." Blake places a reassuring hand on Yang's shoulder.

"I haven't seen her this bad since we were little. I feel as helpless now as I did then. I hate this for her." There are tears pooling in the corners of Yang's eyes. Blake pulls her into a hug.

Qrow sighs from behind them. "I remember that all too well, she perked up eventually, we just gotta give her time."

"Is there anything we can do in the meantime?" Jaune steps forward looking through the door at his girlfriend. His heart ached for her, Neo would pay the next time their paths crossed.

"The best thing we can do is leave her to work through this and be here when she asks us to be." Maria's voice full of wisdom and sadness.

"I'm sorry if this seems insensitive to ask. It didn't seem like Ruby foght back against that girl? Why wouldn't she? Do they know each other?" Oscar wants to understand the situation.

"That girls semblance, she used it to change her appearance to look like Pyrrha." Jaune states, the disgust in his voice for Neo clear.

"One of your friends you lost. I'm sorry." The farm boy states quietly.

"Yea." Jaune sighs.

Qrow sighs again. "There's more to it than that." The huntsman runs his hand through his hair. "She came to me a few day ago to talk. The girl looked like she had seen a ghost. Said she thought she had been seeing Pyrrha for a few days here and there. I figured it was just the chakra training getting to her. Looking back, I feel like an idiot. That woman was stalking Ruby, wearing her down mentally."

"None of us could have known." Yang offers her uncle words of comfort.

Jaune growls stalking off to work out his anger towards Neo. The others in the kitchen sit in silence for a long while. Ruby eventually comes in the house. She ignores the greeting from Weiss and heads up to the bedroom she's sharing with Team RWBY. She doesn't emerge for lunch or dinner. Only leaving the room hours later when the rest of the house is asleep. She returns to the tree sitting at it's base. Wrapping her cloak around herself and staring up at the stars. She still feels mostly numb having not processed much of the events from the attack. The only thing she can focus on clearly is the cruel look on "Pyrrha's" face that night. She pulls her hood up over her head and lays her head on her knees.

"Hey kiddo, it's getting kinda cold out here, might wanna head inside." Qrow's voice floats through the air. Ruby looks up at her uncle and then sets her head back down. He sighs and runs his hand over his face. "I'm all ears if there's anything you want to talk about." He offers but she shakes her head without looking up. "Ruby." He uses his stern teacher voice.

"Please, just leave me alone." Her voice sounding weak and tired. She turns her head away from her uncle.

Qrow hangs his head and walks inside. He paces the kitchen for several minutes. The girl was going to drive herself crazy. He has an idea, honestly he's not sure if it will work, but it's an idea. He walks quietly into the bedroom of Oscar, Ren, and Jaune. He shakes the blonde boys shoulder to wake him. The younger mans eyes snap open. The huntsman shushes the blonde and motions for him to follow. Once they are in the hallway and the door is closed the young knights sleepy brain focuses.

"What's going on?" He manages between yawns.

"Ruby needs you." The huntsman notes the worried look on the younger mans face. "She's physically fine. I just can't get over the feeling it's you that can snap her out of this."

Jaune nods. "Where is she?"

"Same place she was all day." Qrow sighs.

"What should I say to her?" Jaune wonders.

"Wish I could tell ya kid. I have a feeling it'll come to you though. I'll be in the kitchen." The two walk down the hall. Qrow stays at the table and Jaune looks out the door. He swears he can almost feel her sadness from there. He walks out and sits facing her. She makes no indication acknowledging his arrival. He sits for several moments fighting the urge to just wrap her in his arms. "Ruby, will you talk to me?" He asks cautiously.

"Leave me alone, please." She whispers. She turns her head to face him, the sad lost look in her eyes like a punch in the gut. He sits quietly with her for several more minutes thinking.

"That wasn't Pyrrha." His voice kept calm and steady.

"I know." She speaks quietly, a tear rolling down her face.

"That woman can change her appearance with her semblance." He points out.

"Yea." She squeaks.

"She was working with Cinder. That woman used Pyrrha's image just to hurt you." The anger in his voice causes her to look up at him. She nods in response, not trusting her voice right now. "Pyrrha would have never hurt you like that." He reaches out to touch Ruby's face but she turns away from him. They sit in silence for what feels like an eternity.

Ruby looks up at him after a while. "I've been having dreams, and I thought I was going crazy. I thought I was seeing Pyrrha.. I guess it was that woman.." She stops, fighting back tears.

He wants to reach out to her but can tell she isn't ready. "What kind of dreams? Talking about them might help." His voice calm and soothing.

Ruby hugs her knees closer to her chest and sighs. "We are on dates together, but it's not really me… I'm Pyrrha." She stops.

"You're Pyrrha?" He repeats not understanding.

She nods. "Yea.. sometimes it's me on the tower and Pyrrha shooting the arrow…Jaune… am I just a stand in for her? Are you settling for me because Pyrrha is…gone?" Ruby closes her eyes not wanting to look him in the eyes, afraid of the answer.

Jaune's eyes are wide with shock, it takes his brain a minute to process. "My feelings for Pyrrha were, are complicated, but, I never loved Pyrrha." Ruby opens her eyes and watches him, waiting. He rubs his neck. "I had the same concern, when I first realized I had feelings for you. A stranger in a park helped me realize I was just projecting, my own fear and guilt onto the situation. Turns out the stranger was Qrow." Ruby raises an eyebrow. " Yea, I didn't find out until… well the night I confessed to you, he had given me his blessing. Ruby, I promise you, I love you for you, not as a replacement for Pyrrha, not out of convenience. There's no one in the world that fills my heart or gives me the courage to move forward like you do. I love you and only you." He reaches out to touch her face and she doesn't pull back.

"I love you too." She says through tears.

"I know there's more to what you're going through right now. We can talk it out later, for now come here? Okay?" He gently pulls on her hand and she slowly moves towards him. He pulls her into his lap and rests his chin on her head. They sit quietly for a while before he lifts her chin and looks in her eyes. "I love you, just you and only because you are you." He puts emphasis on every "you" he smiles gently at her. He debates something for a while. "You scared the life out of me back there, please don't leave me again." He squeezes her into him gently yet firmly.

Ruby angles her face to look at his in the low light. "Leave you?"

He nods. "I almost wasn't able to bring you back." The weight in his voice convers the meaning and her eyes widen.

"That's where I was." She whispers in wonder to herself.

"Ruby?" He asks quietly.

"Jaune.. I died for a second, didn't I?" Her eyes pierce his, but her voice sounds more curious than anything.

"Yea." He drops his head attempting to hide the tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

She lifts his head and smiles brightly, confusing him greatly. "I saw Pyrrha!" She says with reverence.

"I'm sorry?" He questions making her stifle a giggle.

She nods seriously. "Yes, that's her line by the way. We aren't allowed to see her again for eighty years, and there's something else." Her voice has a I know something you don't tone.

"What else?" He asks genuinely curious now.

"You should have heard how proud she sounded when you were using your semblance on me!" Ruby nearly cheers.

"She was proud?" He repeats.

"So proud!" Ruby nods. "She said she was happy for us too."

That part catches him off guard and he laughs. "That's just like her."

"I forgot all about it until you brought up…. You know." She almost looks embarrassed.

Jaune levels her with a serious gaze. "Promise me."

"I promise." She says seriously. Jaune relaxes he hasn't felt this happy since the night he bumbled his confession. He reaches up and caresses her cheek and lets his fingers glide through her hair. She closes her eyes enjoying the moment. His lips meet hers in the most gentle and heartfelt kiss. She returns the kiss with the same emotion. When the kiss ends she wobbles a little in his arm.

"Whoa." She says blushing.

"That.. was.." He stammers, they both laugh at their awkwardness.

Ruby presses her forehead to his. "I love you vomit boy." She grins.

"I love you, crater face." He returns with a smirk. The two break into laughter until Ruby's stomach growls.

"When was the last time you ate?" He demands.

"Heh, I don't know.. I wasn't hungry till just now." She stutters embarrassed.

The two stand and Jaune smirks, she raises her eyebrow at him and backs up a step. "No you don't." He sing songs grabbing her by surprise and hoisting her over his shoulder. She squeaks in indignation. "We're going inside, and you're going to eat."

"I can walk you know!" She pouts.

"So?" Jaune laughs. He walks through the door and gently sets her down. She puffs her cheeks at him. Qrow raises an eyebrow.

"I'm making her something to eat." Jaune explains.

"Hi Uncle Qrow!" Ruby smiles

"Hey kiddo, feeling better?" Qrow stands walking over to her.

"Yea, sorry if I worried you." Ruby rubs her neck a bit.

Qrow pulls her into a hug and smiles a thanks to Jaune. "Just glad to have you back pipsqueak." He ruffles her hair and settles back at the table. Jaune rummages through the cabinets coming up with the necessary ingredients for peanut butter and jelly. He makes her two and she eats them gladly. The three talk eventually moving into the living room. Ruby falls asleep leaning into Jaune mid conversation. The blonde moves to shake her awake but Qrow stops him, leaving and returning with a blanket. Jaune lays on the couch letting Ruby snuggle into him. Qrow covers the two.

"You did good kid." The huntsman says with pride.

"Thanks." Jaune returns.

"Just keep your hands to yourself, I'm only allowing this tonight because of special circumstances." Qrows voice is teasing with an underlying threat mixed in.

"I promise." Jaune says seriously.

"You're a good man Jaune." Qrow says surprising the younger man.

"Hey, Qrow, likewise." Jaune speaks just loud enough for Qrow to hear already half asleep.

Jaune wakes hours later he opens his eyes when his forehead is flicked. He blinks registering Yang's presence. His fellow blonde is smiling but there's distinctly murderous vibe emanating from her.

Jaune isn't fully awake yet as he works to reason why Yang is in his room. He moves to sit up but finds himself weighted down and he remembers where he is. "It's not what it looks like." He calls waving his free hand in front of him.

Yang smirks. "I know Qrow filled me in, you think I'd miss out on prime teasing potential?"

"You know, you're the devil." Jaune whines.

"Don't spoil my fun." Yang warns, leaning down to shake Ruby's shoulder and wake her up." "Rise and shine sleeping beauty." Yang sing songs in a cheerful tone. Ruby opens her eyes blinking several times. Yang stands and crosses her arms over her chest and switches to her best mom voice. "Ruby Rose, I searched the whole house for you and what do I find? You on the couch sleeping with your boyfriend." She scolds, shooting Jaune a look to keep quiet.

Ruby stares at her sister trying to make sense of her latest prank having not fully registered her situation. Blake and Weiss who had happened to be coming down the stairs at that exact moment nearly lost their balance. Oscar was coming into the living room to ask Yang something promptly turned around and left red faced.

"Yang it's too early to be weird." Ruby whines, she pushes herself up and her cushion oomphs. Ruby looks over at the sound and eeps falling off the couch. Yang holds her glare with difficulty. Yang just stares at her sister for a few seconds, the younger girl looking between her sister and boyfriend in confusion.

"Yang, that's enough." Qrow laughs from the doorway.

"You fell asleep on him last night talking with the killjoy over there." Yang smiles offering her hand to help her sister up.

"Oh, sorry about that." Ruby mumbles, embarrassed none the less.

Blake and Weiss sigh, faces red, they shake their heads and laugh.

Yang wraps her arm around Ruby "We're gonna have a talk later." Qrow coughs, and every face in the hearing range goes bright red. Jaune shoots Ruby a helpless look. Yang drags Ruby upstairs .

"I thought you said later!" The dark haired girl shouts trapped in her sisters grip.

"This is later." Yang cheers.

"I would not want to be Ruby right now." Blake says sympathetically to Weiss. "Nope" The white haired girl agrees.

"Yang's about four years too late for that talk. Poor Ruby, Tai and I gave her the talk on the same day. She wouldn't look at either of us for a week." Qrow laughs.

"You kids are really weird." Maria calls walking into the room. "Interesting, but weird." She chuckles settling into one of the chairs.

"Breakfast is ready." Nora calls poking her head in the room. She takes in the awkwardness of the atmosphere. "Did I miss something?"

A/N: Fluff, fluff and teasing.


	9. Chapter 9: Seeing the light

A/N: Apologies for the delay, the muse was being extra fickle.

The blue black of twilight settled over the land three days after Ruby resolved her feelings from the Neo attack. There had been lots of talking and bonding going on in the group. Stories shared and adventures had. The day she had woken up on the couch with Jaune had been a bit odd. Yang, Blake and Weiss had been walking on eggshells around her at first. Ruby still isn't sure if it was because she had shut down the days before or because of the awkwardness of Yang attempting to have "The talk" with her. "Yang, I'm seventeen." She had whined at her sister causing the older girl's face to go as red as an apple.

Still her sister had lectured her for over an hour. The specifics of which Ruby really attempted to drown out. She did appreciate her sister's heart being in the right place though. She had her entire life ahead of her and this thing with Jaune was still so new. She had priorities as well, so she told her sister thank you for the chat, promised to behave herself and that was that. The knowing smirk Qrow gave Ruby when the sisters exited the room was something that still amused Ruby two days later. Three or was it four years too late at this point.

The tiny reaper was sitting on the covered porch of the cozy cottage Ironwood set them up in, musing over the silly memory. With ten people in the house rare moments of quiet contemplation were hard to come by. She did have company out here with her, Ren was sitting quietly at the other end of the porch watching the clouds blow by. The months travelling together with Ranger the two became quite comfortable sitting in quiet companionship. The opening of the back door draws their attention as Maria and Jaune walk out, their conversation breaking the peaceful silence. Ruby and Ren share the briefest of disappointed looks before smiling at each other, inherently understanding the other.

"Alright Ruby, I've let you sit on your feet long enough. We'll be back to traveling soon I would think and you need to be able to call on your eyes at any given moment." Maria states firmly.

"Yes Ma'am" Ruby nods feeling really good about starting things tonight. Ren moves over next to her and Jaune and Maria take their place at the other end of the porch.

"After all that's happened I think it's best if we start back from the beginning, both of you." Ren announces settling into position. Jaune and Ruby nod.

"Earth chakra first then?" Ruby confirms.

"Yes, earth for survival, blocked by fear." Maria talks quietly.

Ruby and Jaune close their eyes and concentrate.

Jaune fears his own weakness and losing more of the people he loves. He thinks on his progress in his training and how his semblance has kept two important people to him alive and well. With a sigh he lets the fear go again. He opens his eyes and Maria nods approvingly.

Ruby's fears are much the same as Jaune's the specter of Salem they witnessed in Haven rears its ugly head adding to the list of things she fears. She has her teams, her uncle, Oscar, Maria and even Ironwood to an extent. To let her fears go the tiny reaper does her best to imagine a world in which they have won against the grimm queen and everyone can live in peace. She opens her eyes and smiles, ren returns the gesture.

"Next is Water." Ren continues, Ruby groans. "I have faith in you." His voice is warm.

Jaune closes his eyes visualizing the things he had felt guilty about, this time not noticing Ruby's odd behavior in the days leading up to the caravan attack. He will need to be more attentive since she's the type to keep things like that to herself. He forgives himself again, opening his eyes feeling the aura start to flow easier already.

Ruby's face is scrunched in concentration. Pyrrha and Penny being at the forefront of her mind, but she remembers her vision of the kind girl. Pyrrha didn't blame her, Jaune didn't blame her, no one did, she shouldn't blame herself either. Almost like a light being turned on she releases her guilt. The way some of the tension leaves her body lets Ren know she finally overcame this hurdle. She opens her eyes to a proud smile on her friends face.

"Now Fire, this one's about willpower, blocked by shame." Maria nods to Jaune.

The young knight closes his eyes. He's actually a bit tripped up on this one. He knows what things he's ashamed of, but he's put so much work into getting past all of that. His forged transcripts, the way he let Cardin blackmail him, his blindness to Pyrrha's affections until it was too late. He struggled for a long while trying to get past the shame, when he hears Ruby answer a question from Ren with her signature "nope" chirped at their friend. He smiles remembering his talk with her in the hall that night. He opens his eyes and nods at Maria.

Ren had figured that Ruby would struggle with this one tonight the most and was quite surprised as he watched her almost instantly blast through the chakra with ease. "That one wasn't hard?" Ren asks? "Nope" She chirps grinning. Maria isn't surprised, in the short time she has known the little silver eyed girl she could tell that Ruby had willpower in spades. The ordeal with the apathy something she will be amazed at the rest of her life.

"The fourth chakra is located at the heart and deals with love." Ren states warmly looking at his two friends. "It's blocked by grief." He again looks both in the eye.

"We have to let the grief go." Ruby states, looking at Jaune, he nods back. Their eyes both close at the same time. Much of what they feel grief about is the same, Ruby has the added burden of the grief from the loss of her mother, but letting go of the grief doesn't mean they forget about or didn't love the people they lost. Jaune's eyes open first he wipes away tears. Minutes later Ruby's eyes open and likewise she dries her eyes with the back of her had.

"Next is the sound chakra. It's power comes from truth and is blocked by lies, even the ones we tell ourselves." Ren explains

Ruby is fairly straight forward and honest, this one comes very easily for her. Jaune struggles as his feelings of weakness hold him back, but he's not weak any more and he remembers that. Then its like a light bulb going off and he lets the lies go

"Next is light, insight blocked by illusion" Maria nods at them.

Ruby focuses, this one seems more abstract. Light like her eyes or… "Oh, light like hope." She speaks out loud not meaning to. What illusions does she have of herself and the world? She often projects her optimism out into the world leading many to think she is naïve, but that's an illusion of her others have not one she has of herself. She isn't blindly fighting Salem. She is aware of the risks and aware that everyone with her is as well. The one thing she has struggled with since starting her journey surfaces. She is not a replacement for Pyrrha. Not for Ren, not for Nora, and especially not for Jaune, they never saw her as such and she doesn't need to let that thought live in her head any longer. She focuses on letting the feeling go. She opens her eyes smiling gently at Ren who nods in approval.

Jaune again confronts his illusion of being too weak, holding the team back, being useless, these are all illusions he created of himself, he lets go of them easily. His eyes are already open when Ruby speaks out loud. Her inadvertent outburst making him smile.

"Lastly, thought cosmic energy blocked by earthly attachments" Ren explains to Ruby.

"Earthly attachments?" Ruby repeats in question, not noticing Jaune already at work on it.

Ren nods. "Our connections and bonds to our loved ones, and even objects, they have to be let go to allow the cosmic energy to flow."

Ruby blinks, that sounds absurd. "I don't get it, aren't our bonds to each other a good thing?"

"Yes, but letting them go is the only way, you'll understand when you do it." The dark haired boy says reassuringly.

Ruby gives him an uncertain look before closes her eyes. She envisions her dad, Yang, Blake, Weiss, Nora, Ren, Oscar, Qrow, Maria and of course Jaune. Let the bonds go? It seems wrong and backwards and heartbreaking, how on Remnant can that be a good thing. She trusts Ren so she tries, maybe there is a secret about it he wants her to discover. She tries heard but her heart hurts, it's breaking and she just can't imagine it being anything good to forget the bonds she has with them. Though still she tries. Opening her eyes she shakes her head. "I just need a little break." She whispers to Ren not wanting to disturb Maria and Jaune. It's then that she notices he isn't meditating.

The old huntress is smiling at the young knight who is flexing his hands. The soft gold of his semblance encasing his whole body. "So how does it feel?" Maria asks him.

"It feels great, I feel like I have more control over the flow, this will help so much." He beams up at her.

"Ruby?" Ren calls out in concern.

She didn't realize she had stood up, her jaw slack and her heart beating out of her chest. She stands speechless, she wants to ask how he could let their bonds go so easily? Weren't their friends important to him? Wasn't SHE important to him. If she was so easy to let go was she just a replacement after all? She wants to say all of it, scream and shout and be very unRuby like. Her voice refuses to cooperate only quiet squeaks managing to sound from her. That draws Jaune and Maria's attention to her. Maria recognizes it for what it is right away, but in true Jaune fashion he's up running to Ruby's side before she can explain to them.

"Ruby?" Jaune reaches out for her, he blinks as she's gone in an explosion of rose petals, he catches her disappearing into the woods. He starts to run after her when Maria calls out for him to wait.

"You only explained the first half to her didn't you Ren?" Maria asks wearily.

Ren drops his head. "Yea, I wanted her to discover the feeling of the bonds returning on her own as a surprise."

"Oh boy, blondie, you go get her, and good luck." Maria sighs, Jaune nods and sprints after Ruby, he calls her name a few times with no answer. He's about to panic when she calls out "leave me alone" It at least gives him a direction to run in.

"Ruby please stop running this is a bit ridiculous!" He calls out "It's a misunderstanding."

Despite herself with the pleading sound of his voice she does stop and he catches up with her. He's winded and out of breath. She keeps her back to him, not wanting him to see her crying.

"Remember when we first met? I secretly still think it's funny you literally blew up." He chuckles a bit. "The forest is calm and quiet, come talk with me a bit?"

She nods and the two walk to a little clearing, she sits on a fallen log and he sits on the ground in front of her. He waits for her to talk. "You let our bonds go." She whispers dropping her head.

He thinks for a moment, he probably would have came to the same conclusion had Maria not explained to him what happened to the bonds before starting. "Hey, Ruby? Tell me how you feel about me?" He catches her off guard.

She scrunches her skirt in her hands and her lips quiver. "I'm in love with you." She starts looking him in the eyes. "This feeling, it's like nothing I've ever felt before, it's big and scary and it almost hurts I feel it so much.."

Jaune tears up a little. "I feel the same way about you." He reassures speaking quietly.

"Then, why?" She questions wiping her eyes.

"When you open the chakra, you only let go temporarily, the bonds aren't forgotten, they don't disappear, for me.. I felt like they came back stronger in a way." She looks at him uncertainly. He leans up sitting fully on his knees so the two are face to face. Gently he cups her cheek and leans in kissing her gently. When he breaks the kiss he rests his forehead on hers and looks into her eyes. "Try for me and see for yourself?" She nods and feeling reassured, several minutes pass and she opens her eyes wide.

"What is this feeling?" She asks in awe.

"Feels great doesn't it?" He smiles and she nods. The sound of something large charging towards them catches their attention. They both spring to their feet reaching for their weapons. They both pale, they don't have them. The realization hits as an ursa emerges roaring and swiping at them. "Jaune, stay away from its claws, I think I can get it." Ruby cries out to him from a perch in a tree she sprung into. She closes her eyes focusing on her meditation and the free knowledge Jinn gave her, she opens her eyes and silver light fills the forest. The light dies down and the ursa is petrified.

"Amazing." Jaune speaks in reverence as the beast crumbles into dust having been fully defeated by the attack. Ruby hops down from the tree smiling. "We did it partner!" She beams at him, Jaune takes a page from Nora's book and tackles her laughing. When their giggles die down he cant help but be overcome by the way the light sparkles in her hair and the way her eyes crinkle when she smiles at him. He kisses her again and again allowing his hands to tangle in her hair. Her hands find his hair and they become lost in their own little world until they hear Yang calling for them.

"We better go." Ruby pouts.

"Yea." Jaune pouts back helping her up. They walk towards Yang's voice hand in hand.

A/N: So, this is the end of arc one, it may be a few days before I figure out arc 2 which will be Yang and Blake centric.


End file.
